Inquiry into Pablo Neruda's 1973 death reopened by Chile appeals court

[Judi Lynn]

February 20, 2024 / 11:25 PM EST / AP


WORLD
Inquiry into Pablo Neruda's 1973 death reopened by Chile appeals court
February 20, 2024 / 11:25 PM EST / AP

An appeals court in Chile's capital on Tuesday ruled that the case of Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda's death be reopened, saying the investigation has not been exhausted and new steps could help clarify the cause of his death.

Last December, a judge rejected a request by Neruda's nephew to reopen the case to look for other causes of death than cancer, which is what is listed on the poet's death certificate.

In February 2023, the nephew, Rodolfo Reyes, said forensic experts from Canada, Denmark and Chile had found evidence pointing to Neruda having died of poisoning more than 50 years ago.

Reyes said forensic tests carried out in Danish and Canadian labs indicated a presence in Neruda of "a great quantity of Cloristridium botulinum, which is incompatible with human life." The powerful toxin can cause paralysis in the nervous system and death.

. . .

Neruda, a Communist Party member, died 12 days after the 1973 military coup that toppled the government of President Salvador Allende and hours before he was to leave Chile for exile in Mexico. The coup put Gen. Augusto Pinochet in power.

More:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-court-in-chile-has-ruled-that-the-case-of-chilean-poet-pablo-nerudas-death-be-reopened/

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3. As I understood it back then

Neruda lived apart from the people. He was on Pinochet's enemy list. They prevented his doctor from seeing him. This story adds a new wrinkle to his death.